Hundreds flee as Israel raids Hezbollah strongholds

Israel said commando and paratroop units launched raids into Lebanon on Tuesday as part of a "limited" invasion, while Iran-backed Hezbollah said it had fired a barrage of missiles into Israel, including at its spy agency near Tel Aviv.

The raids by Israeli troops in southern Lebanon that began overnight were limited and went only a short distance over the border, an Israeli security official said on Tuesday, adding that no direct clashes with Hezbollah fighters were reported.

The latest escalation has caused international alarm with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy saying Israel should avoid a repeat of the past and not get "bogged down in a quagmire" in Lebanon amid fears the conflict will engulf the wider region.

The Israeli raids follow intense airstrikes that have devastated the Hezbollah's leadership, including assassinating its chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut last week.

Israel also carried out two attacks on Beirut on Tuesday afternoon, striking the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital and the city's southern entrance, two security sources said.

A high-rise building was hit in the city's Jnah area, the sources said. The Israeli military said it was targeting the Lebanese capital and had carried out a "precise strike."

Israel's military said its ground raids are aimed at Hezbollah strongholds along the border that threaten Israel and it is not a war against the Lebanese people.

The military said on Tuesday it was calling up four additional reserve brigades for operational missions on the northern border with Lebanon.

Residents in southern Lebanon fled on Monday and Tuesday as Israeli strikes drew nearer, local sources said.

At least 600 people were seeking refuge in a monastery on the southern Lebanon border after their Christian village of Ain Ebl received a warning from the Israeli military, local residents said.